Technical Documentation: The Economics of CO2 Transport by Pipeline Storage in Saline Aquifers and Oil Reserves

Large reductions in carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) emissions from fossil fuel use will be required to stabilize atmospheric
concentrations of CO<sub>2</sub> [1-5]. One option to reduce CO<sub>2</sub> emissions to the atmosphere from large industrial sources—
particularly fossil-fuel fired power plants—is carbon capture and storage (CCS); i.e., the capture of CO<sub>2</sub> directly from
anthropogenic sources and disposal of it in geological sinks for significant periods of time [6]. CCS requires CO<sub>2</sub> to first
be captured and compressed to high pressures, then transported to a storage site, where it is injected into a suitable
geologic formation. Each of these steps—capture, transport, and storage—is capital and energy intensive, and will have a
significant impact on the cost of production for electricity or other industrial commodities produced using CCS.
However, with appropriate policy incentives, CCS could act as a potential “bridging technology” that would achieve
significant CO<sub>2</sub> emission reductions while allowing fossil fuels to be used until alternative energy sources are more
widely deployed.